With 108 works over 36 nights in the 2004 edition of Resolution! - The Place's 15th annual new year's festival of new dance - it is the UK's biggest ever dance platform event.

As the companies are selected through an open application process, with anyone who has completed formal training in dance able to apply, the works are set be the usual mix of the exciting, the intriguing and the just-plain-baffling. They are divided into 3 categories:

First Footing: companies new to Resolution! Evolution: returning companies with new works. Aerowaves: companies from continental Europe, performing in London for the first time.

A new development for 2004 is that Resolution! begins - on Monday 5 January - with a look back at 2003, and the three favourite pieces from the last Resolution!, as selected by The Place's Theatre Director, John Ashford.

They are Naked Fish Productions' "Fugue for a Furnished Flat" (choreographed by Sarah Fahie and Antonio Caporilli), Jean Abreu's "Hibrido" and In Our Own Company's "Aftermath" (choreographed by Gildas Diquero).

Since performing these pieces last January, both Sarah Fahie and Jean Abreu have won awards in the 2003 Jerwood Choreography Awards. On the last night of Resolution!, the same three companies return to premiere their new works.

Congratulations to The Place for yet again mounting Resolution! and with more performances than ever before.

The "Greatest Hits from 2003" is a good idea and by chance I saw all 3 of the performances that John Ashford has selected and I would not argue with his choice. Here are my reviews of the three pieces:

“Hibrido” by Jean Abreu - 7th February 2003

The high spot of the evening for me was “Hibrido” by Jean Abreu. This was a First-Footing presentation, that is a first time visit by a company. However, we saw a wealth of dance talent from the performers – Abreu is with Protein Dance and Marion Ramirez has danced with various companies, including a notable duet with Darren Johnson. With a mix of Latin American and Modern movement, “Hibrido” has a strong structure and much choreographic interest and deserves to be seen by a wider audience.

At first the two dancers stand one behind the other and slowly move away in simultaneous solos at the end of a long diagonal. Abreu performed Capoeira moves with powerful grace and Ramirez moved sinuously and with a precision that sometimes took my breath away. After these extended linked solos, the dancers move together for an intense and fascinating duet full of sensuality and melancholy, as the two figures struggle to find common ground. At the end, we see them walking away from eachother in sadness.

The emotional charge of “Hibrido” was no doubt heightened by the fact that this was Marion Ramirez’s last performance here before her visa runs out. CriticalDance wishes her every success in New York, but we hope to see her back before too long, as she has proved one of the best young dancers performing in the UK over the past couple of years. Remarkably, this was Abreu’s first attempt at choreography and is one of the most promising debuts I can remember at Resolution!

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“Aftermath" In Our Own Company (chor. by Gildas Diquero) - 14th February 2003

So to the dancing and the highlight was “Aftermath” by Gildas Diquero. This was included in the First Footing section, but although Diquero has only choreographed one workshop piece before, he is one of the most adept modern dancers in the country and his partner in the work, Dylan Elmore also enjoys a strong pedigree from Batsheva Dance Company. To a mix of electronic sounds, piano tunes and narrative from director, Stuart Lynch, Elmore and then Diquero each performed a solo, while the other looked on. Both were danced to the highest standards and Elmore began and ended his section with a memorable move, with his arms curved in front of him and turning with a simple, but eloquent step to allow his feet to catch up with his body. The relative softness of his dance was contrasted with Diquero’s solo with swinging arms stretched out and rapid, distance-covering steps.

But most remarkable was the duet that followed. This was filled with conflict and abrasive jerks and pulls, showing a relationship with many points of contact, but no harmony. Whereas Russell Maliphant’s male duets are all smooth power, “Aftermath” sometimes made me worried for the safety of the dancers. In the end there was a change of pace and a greater understanding between the two characters, reflected in dance where they accommodated, rather than resisted, each other’s dynamic. This was a successful second work from Gildas Diquero, although perhaps the solos could bear some editing. I hope we see more from this gifted dance artist.

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“Fugue for a Furnished Flat” by Naked Fish Productions - 14th February 2003

Naked Fish Productions gave us “Fugue for a Furnished Flat”, choreographed and performed by Sarah Fahie and Antonio Caporilli. In a room the two characters follow their own paths to great humorous effect and a few comments about the consequences of taking self-interest too far. The dance opened with Caporilla playing a record on-stage repeatedly, occasionally looking across at Fahie. I remember thinking that he looked like a finalist in a Vinnie Jones look-alike competition and lo and behold, when he got up to dance we saw football kicks and headers amid speedy, neat steps. Eventually Fahie’s seductive, yet awkward movement gets his attention and they duet in their own styles, ending on the floor, wrapping themselves around each other. Post-coitus, Caporilla is more interested in a solo card game, shuffling the cards behind his partner’s back. After an anguished monologue and tears from Fahie, it begins to look as if Caporilla has begun to get the message. Then in a memorable coup de theatre finalé, he turned his attention to the audience, where about 10 people stood up and sang along to the Halleluiah chorus – his love of music comes first. While it sags a little in the middle, “Fugue” has enough jokes and interesting dance to make it an enjoyable work.

Interesting this year - the young Resolution writers selected on the basis of their good writing skills - including our own Lyndsey Winship and Katie Phillips - Congratulations - are to be paired with the professionals so that they can compare styles and get feedback.

Donald Hutera, Sanjoy Roy, Ben Furstenberg are among the professionals who will be reviewing for The Place as part of this new Resolution idea.

THIS impresses with numbers: six weeks of a new triple-bill each night (except Sundays), totalling 108 freshly minted dance works. An open application process divides companies into categories — those new to the game (First Footing), others returning with new pieces (Evolution) and a select group of dance artists from continental Europe (Aero- waves). The result is a lucky dip of the intriguing, the potentially thrilling and the suspect.

Each January, the Place brings in the new year with Resolution!, a packed season of contemporary dance, playing six nights a week with three pieces in each show. A platform for choreographic newcomers, its quality, subjects and styles vary wildly, but this unpredictability can make it fertile ground for spotting new talent or next year's trends.

Despite being a forward-looking festival, Resolution! 2004 began with a re-run. Three companies who made their mark in last year's event returned with a trio of duets.

First up, Naked Fish and 'Fugue for a Furnished Flat'. A man and woman steal quiet afternoons together in a rented flat, embracing under a bare bulb, dancing to a crackly gramophone, brought together not so much by chemistry as loneliness.

Their personalities jar. His moves are footballing kicks and handstands, agile if undancerly, while she is gentle and a little coquettish. After a hesitant start the couple are soon engrossed in manipulation, conflict and reconciliation, and some nice comic moments. Yet when the outside world invades, their liaison crumbles. If only we could play out all our failed romances in 25 minutes.

In 'Hibrido', Jean Abreu blends contemporary dance with capoeira. Abreu himself is a captivating performer, finding the right balance between strength and softness, restraint and abandon.

When he and partner Natasha Gilmore meet, what begins as confrontation becomes a counter-balance and finally a single soul. 'Hibrido' is a welcome anomaly – a male/female duet that doesn’t deal in sex – and Abreu is a welcome addition to the UK dance scene.

In the final piece, In Our Own Company's 'Aftermath', two dancers take the stage separately. One is seized by restlessness, flinging his arms across his body as if he's trying to get rid of them. The other turns in tiny circles, torso and pelvis at odds with one another.

A multi-layered soundscape projects echoing beats, a muted piano, a gravelly hum and some bitchy horoscopes. There's so much going on that it's hard to concentrate on the dancing – until the two men come together, tentatively but ominously.

They try to evade each other but can't let go. Denying intimacy, they grab onto wrists instead of hands and carelessly drag each other's bodies, until at last they give in and crush the space between them. It's all about getting under somebody's skin, and this is a company that seems to know how to do it.

thank you Lyndsey - how was Dylan Elmore on Wednesday - I saw him at RFH dancing with Zenaida Yanowsky as part of the Danish evening and I thought he was an extremely good dancer and actor. He was dancing in 'Aftermath' I believe.

Tango Art, the first piece of the evening mixed, cut and de-constructed traditional tango steps and the mind-set of partner dancing. All three performers danced to their own rhythm and vocals when their ear plugs were in and satisfying Argentinean Tango music when they took them out. Their tango steps were fluid and flitting, with swishes, kicks and cross overs, but frustratingly intercepted by a hyper complicated argument of leading, resisting, relaxing and accepting – it didn’t matter that lines were forgotten in this pseudo-acting skit. The piece was coherent, but could have been richer – in both visuals and content, and contain less 'singing'.

Alice Sara’s ‘[a conversation]’ contained two beautiful dancers and some striking movements, if not much actual conversing. The bland costumes, washed out with stark lighting were unfortunately draining of stimulation from the onset. There is a lot of room in the piece for the use of characterisation through eye contact, expression and perhaps humour. Numerous pieces of music were used for no apparent reason, and funky up-beat sounds are great as long as it doesn’t look as if the dancers are counting out the steps of a dance routine. And the guest appearance of a toy orange lobster? Perhaps it should have been a wind up red herring instead.

Chard Gonzalez’ ‘Tea and Apathy’ consisted of a monotone ride through a sanatorium, with tubi-grip straight jacket costumes; improvised, constrained movement and a handful of stellar performers. ARes dishevelled looking David Leahy was definitely the star of the piece. Leaning on his bass, it was ambiguous as to whether or not he was controlling the action or just adding his musical talent to the visual collage of writhing, shaking, and laughing.

291 Gallery 18th & 19th February @ 8pm Followed by post-show party with DJ’s Erren and Gino

Worboys New Dance Theatre announces the London premiere of a multi-media dance performance from the vanguard of the British contemporary dance scene.

Featuring a cast of performers that ranges from a Catholic priest to a young man from Martinique and a nipper from Acton, The Fifth Season explores the insubstantial nature of time and the power that memory has over our lives. The characters are lulled into intense reveries as they travel by train. A child remembers catching autumn leaves with her mother, a young woman remembers falling in love, an elderly man remembers the pain of loss and the transcendence it can lend. Live music by Leon Danezos coupled with subtle projections and lighting coalesce to transport audiences to the realms of the beyond.

Highly evocative and physically exciting, The Fifth Season showcases the talents of London–based choreographer Hattie Worboys, whose work has enjoyed acclaim both in the UK and overseas.

‘Worboys choreography manages to combine a lightness of touch with depth of vision’ Whatsonwhen, April ‘03

PREVIOUS WORK INCLUDES….

Tracing Spaces at The Fridge Gallery, Brixton Laquerdays at The Spitz, London La Piedra del Oro in Brussels, Belgium

Device Dance Underneath – Emerging – Revealing By Daniel Vais and danced by Vais, Fumi Tomioka, and Hiromi Ishikawa. Crouched over with arms out reached and hands moving like antenna or pincers three figures enter in their own time from both sides of the stage. 6 neon tubing gradually getting brighter, 3 laying on either side of the stage make the space seem small and vacuous at the same time. The mood is quiet but strained making the stillness rather uneasy. The three dancers creeped into spacial patterns, meetings and passings that were complimented by the slow reveal of the cyc. The cyc turned from a blue to a glaring white glow. The movement by each dancer was individualistic each separate expression an indication of their shared movement vocabulary, their shared significations that resolved into an ensemble stance. This mutated into a promenade by each dancer on his or her self and along a circle formation, the gestures returning to the opening movement expression and ending in darkness. This dance inspired by Butoh seemed in search of itself and pretended to be something that at this point in time could only imitate and not quite actualise. Trapped and confined by numerous unseen barriers, even the lights, especially on the floor, seemed to clutter what professed to be clean and clear.

Temporary Slaughter by Charlotte Eatock and danced by Sarah Labigne, Beth Lewis, Sarita Piotrowski, and Marit Velle Kile. A fascination or ponderous of the word “slaughter” that with the slip of the letter “s” becomes laughter is the starting point for this dance that plays with opposites, happy/sad or joy/pain. A bit whimsical and young, this work is a good start for a choreographer who has a good go at tying dance with elements of drama and comedy. With the mixture of music, classical and pop, the telling of an incident in a movie, shouting matches and the wonderful projection of a woman’s face, juxtaposition seems the target that is lost and found.

Trinity Dance Project Archipelago by Allan Balfour and danced by Nicholas Norman, Gerrard Martin, Ivan Martinez Moreno, Damian Winter-Higgins, Kristine Pedersen, Kerry-Ann Henry, and Anna G. Jansson. The dancers of Trinity Dance Project through Allan Balfour’s direction presented sketches of their combined lived experiences of the Caribbean landscape. This was an episodic work with 3 sections; ensemble phrases, a charming duet, an agile solo that culminated into verbal significations by members of the Project that hinted to varied cultural identities. Within these sections were numerous cameo solos and duets that gave the work texture and a fair amount of depth. The dancer’s performance was spirited and technically astute. The movement vocabulary being a manipulation of contemporary, ballet, and Caribbean dance forms, placed the work in a modern, expressionistic vein. The work had its own message of diversity, prowess, and captivation. Ensemble movement illustrated individualist as well as group power, camaraderie and moments of contemplation. Invisible adversaries were either illustrative of an individual or group inner turmoil or imaginatively situated downstage left. One section used a knotted rope, a metaphor for bondage or boundaries that the dancers as protagonists easily surmounted. The sticky points were the transitions between sections that amounted to disruptions and the rope that was used with some level of importance but appeared then disappeared with no consequence. Still this one prop and designed lighting spots by Humphrey McDermott that captured each dancer in a position of vulnerability or tenacity, hinted to cultural significations that were noticed or subliminally felt. These moments pointed to a revisionist type resistance. At its most joyous though there was turmoil and as the work ended with a defiant statement of all members of the Project facing the audience, there was still a good bit of gleeful exuberance.

The Aerowaves performances at Resolution! are all UK debuts from international companies. They're that little bit more experienced than the first time Brits and it shows.

Emilia Adelöw, representing Sweden, is tonight's class act. In 'Rosting' there's a stage strewn with chairs, a blonde in a black dress, a good looking guy wearing stubble and a suit, and a lot of sexual tension. This predatory pair know the ways and wiles of modern romance. They ask for attention yet act like they don't need it. Can you offer yourself up without letting your guard down?

When he gets hold of her, testosterone thrusts to the surface – along with some gutsy choreography. This is confrontational courting. But when they tire of the game and head for the bedroom, vulnerability is laid bare. There's very little actual contact between the couple but less proves more when the result is deliciously sensual.

Rhythm builds seductively and the highly charged heat rises – like real sex rather than its stylised stage cousin. But rather than climax, it cools off. Let down by trite music, 'Rosting' doesn’t leave you completely satisfied but it certainly stands out.

In comparison, Rachel Lopez de la Nieta's 'A sort or kind' just simmers. A short solo, ably danced by Henrietta Hale – mostly on her hands and knees – is promising but needs embellishment. The pivotal moment comes when a flock of birds are illuminated overhead, their shadows thrown onto the stage, circling our earthbound dancer. Entranced by the image, she spreads her arms and runs, desperately in search of flight – but like this piece – doesn't quite take off.

'Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em' seems to be the message in Suzannah West's 'Vent'. Men, women, friends or lovers, other people are an eternal source of strife. If the previous piece was a sketch, then this is a textbook crammed full of ideas. The company of five try Alston-esque abstraction, martial art-inspired sparring, some shouting, some comedy, ensembles, solos and duets.

What she needs to erase is the choreographic process. It’s like watching a workshop, seeing the dancers move through possibilities, often chancing on an innovative balance or nice detail, but nonetheless exposing the workings. Great choreography should feel instinctive, never laboured.

The young dancers need a little fine-tuning and like all of tonight's pieces, 'Vent' suffers from insipid music – a repetitive plodding keyboard and endless arpeggios. No more please. This feels like a choreographer revising everything she's learnt so far. Now she needs to branch out on her own.

In 'Reasons to be Cheerful', The Company take an upbeat look at the issue of mental health. Noting that one in four adults are thought to be suffering from mental health problems at any one time, choreographer Erica Knighton uses bland fixed grins and high-energy jazz dance to highlight the manufactured happiness that is marketed as normality. It's rare that The Place's stage sees dancers who look like they've just stepped in from the West End, high-kicking and split-leaping like the kids from Fame.

A wry soundtrack of songs by Ian Dury and the Blockheads gives way to melancholy Chopin and a woman wearing a hospital issue gown, repeating gestures over and over, caught in her spiralling thoughts. In the end they're all popping pills to keep themselves sane. Unfortunately, Knighton's choreographic language is limited and the mismatched ensemble can't really get under the skin of the subject. There's plenty of pizzazz here, but little substance.

Lydia Ariken's 'Slip' is a completely different proposition. Collaborating with poet James Byrne, Ariken combines sections of movement with live verse. The direction isn't always clear but there are some effective moments along the way, and the pair manage to create an atmosphere of intensity – even if that's only the audience straining to make sense of it all.

At first cool and composed, Ariken swaps her smart velvet dress for a torn tunic and lets her hair hang across her face. Free and feral, she sways and swoops in circles, spinning back and forth, chasing her tail. Ariken is a very committed performer, with presence and belief, even if her ideas lack development.

Ariken's choice of music is key to creating the charged atmosphere. As Rachmaninov's Vespers sweeps over the stage, her slightest movements are lent a religious gravity. Byrne's poems muse over the big questions of time and destiny, but 'Slip' doesn't seem to follow any natural order. There are a lot of words but ultimately it's hard to hear what they are trying to say.

It's into the Theatre of the Absurd for the final piece, Lapsus Corpi's 'Waiting for Audi-Audi', choreographed by Efrosini Protopapa. Inspired by Samuel Beckett, Protopapa combines an intellectual exploration of theatre with clowning and slapstick, blurring boundaries between onstage and offstage, performers and audience, objects, words, and images.

Two brightly coloured clown-girls take centre stage, with a cast of plain-clothed extras applying their make-up, providing props, and taking photos and videos of the proceedings. They repeat mundane mechanical movements, winding themselves up till they snap. Then they play games with names and actions and commands.

Voices tell us that they are waiting for Audi-Audi, but who is Audi-Audi? Turns out it's us, the audience, the final and most important piece of any performance. And thus, once they find us, it's all over. Absurd indeed, but endearingly intriguing.

Celia Grannum is a fine dancer, and her long, long limbs and sensual, elegant, earthy presence will soon have you hooked. 'Goodbye Saturn' opens with Grannum dressed in white rags, back to the audience, hands slapped behind her shoulder blades. Pulling and jerking, her bones are pushed to the edges of their sockets.

In silence, she expels bursts of movement, using her breath as much as her limbs to power her forward. Well rooted, she soars straight upwards and her pointed toes seem to be pulling her back to earth. As the momentum is starting to fade, Grannum turns an unexpected corner, washing up on a beach with projected waves rolling over her body. Our drowning dancer gives herself up to this serene end, but we can be sure that Grannum herself won't disappear so easily.

In 'Something Outside', Sara Crow and Chris Tandy play a couple caught in a stale domestic routine. Might they rediscover a delicate moment together? The journey is a muted experience, a quiet agreement between a familiar couple who can be tender without touching, and expressive without eye contact. His dancing is soft at the edges while she is a sharper presence, although that might just be the bright 60's-print dress.

Finally, they succumb to an unfussy embrace as Tom Waits rasps, 'you haven’t looked at me that way in years', and it's a genuinely touching moment. But there's no placatory happy ending. We know, and they know, that they're both dreaming of being somewhere else. 'Something Outside' is no incredible adventure in choreography but it's a real grower, a gently evocative piece of theatre.

Tonight's programme closes with a paean to women murdered in the witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries, from Influx Dance Company. In 'Malleus Maleficarum' choreographer Joanne Willmott attempts to rewrite the legend and salvage the strength and dignity of a persecuted people.

The accused septet are identically dressed in long black skirts and sleeves, their individual identities erased. Whispers from the wings taunt the silenced women whose own voices have been stolen. The dancers make strong gestures and crooked motifs, feet widely planted, arms at long reach. With faces skyward and chests pushed forward in defiance, or perhaps prayer, there are echoes of Martha Graham – although again, maybe it's just the dresses.

These are not wild women. They find power in order, and make an impact with unified ensemble passages, alternated with fervid torrents of movement. Ultimately, they remain stoical in the face of hanging or violent drowning. What gives this piece an extra dimension is its mournful, folkish soundtrack by Daniel Shaw, performed live by two cellists. Shaw's wandering melodies and groaning chords infuse real life into this woeful dance of death.

There is a common interrogation about where contemporary dance is heading; taking into account where it has come from and what has already been done - where is it going and what makes contemporary dance new and interesting? It is often hard to find enjoyable work amidst the choreographer’s aspiration to ‘challenge’ the audience. So what makes a work refreshing? What is it that we have yet to discover and experience? The utilisation of Indian classical dance and the emerging influences of Butoh indicate how Western audiences are being drawn towards the diverse cultures, traditions and languages of the Far East and the Orient for performance material.

In this respect, a simple but a slightly mysterious Orientalism makes for intriguing viewing in Chia Tachibana's Suketatsuchini. A sense of nature pervades the piece from the onset: beginning with the whispers of a seething sea, the dancers appear like the sounds – a montage of shapes sculpted in space, their shadows and pointed limbs, reminiscent of oriental shadow puppets.

If the current screen trend of regurgitation of the classics is anything to go by, the piece smacks of early American Modernism, and may seem, perhaps slightly out of date in an Isadora Duncan-esque kind of way. True, it is a ‘pure dance’ piece with simple rhythms, safe technique, efficient on the beat prances, split leaps and the occasional high kick – and out of date concepts such as a slightly crude ‘baring of the soul’ do spring to mind. But, if viewed in the style of 'a remake of a classic', but with a contemporary twist, then that makes it new, refreshing and enjoyable in my opinion.

There are some subtle, deftly poignant moments amidst hands-over-face style melodrama. I’m not quite sure about the delicate prancing right on the beat of the music, even if the energy of the steps combined with the Oriental yodelling was kind of uplifting… Overall, however, the music is as clear and concise as the dancing and it is an unusual piece - ornate, evocative and intriguing.

Beginning with a stalker’s view of four women through their paradoxically shuttered yet exposed existence, Lounge Living is a theatrical satire exploring the archetypal roles of four elemental women. The piece is cute, sassy and gender-political performed in a great set with the colour, character quirks and brashness of a Ben Elton novel.

The voice over, in a David Bellamy style nature documentary details the physiological, psychological and banal exploits of four women with the neurotic detail of an obsessive as obsessed as the subject itself. He informs us of the percentage of verbal and gestural communication used by women and comments on the perplexing realms of the distortion of the self – chemicals in the hair and on the face and wonderbras. Despite a brief mention, the concept of ‘survival of the fittest’ isn’t really an issue – rather all the women are encapsulated, demonstrated, explored and celebrated. It is witty and fast paced with an emphasis on theatricality rather than dance.

Comic stereotype is skirted around but not succumbed to – we see a girl on the phone twiddling the cord between her fingers; told of a latte that saves the day; and there is a token hippy with a tea cloth on her head. However, chocolate and coffee are merely skimmed over so that characters are kept, at least in their relationship with one another, fairly neutral. Perhaps this is to appease the feminists who will not be classified into the typecast characteristics of fire, air, water and earth, or to keep from shunning male viewers. Perhaps with such quirky, obvious characters, more melodrama and flounce would be acceptable in order to add to the satire and irony, which are the most entertaining elements of the piece.

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